The present invention relates to a composite material having a substrate, which consists of aluminum, having an intermediate layer, which is located on the substrate on one side, and having an optically active multilayer system, which is applied to the intermediate layer and comprises three layers, the two upper layers being dielectric and/or oxide layers and the bottom layer being a metallic layer which has been applied to the intermediate layer.
A composite material of this general type, as surface-treated aluminum strip which goes by the name of MIRO(copyright), is in widespread use for illumination engineering, daylight systems and decorative applications. The surface treatment serves to better protect the sensitive aluminum surface and to increase the light reflectivity. The surface-treatment operation comprises two different processes, which can both be operated continuously, specifically the production of the intermediate layer in a wet-chemical process, which is referred to overall as anodizing and comprises electrolytic brightening and anodic oxidation, and the application of the optically active multilayer system in vacuo. The two upper layers are generally dielectric layers; the use of oxide layers, such as for example aluminum oxide or titanium oxide as the top layer, silicon dioxide as the middle layer, represents a preferred specific case. In connection with details of the known MIRO(copyright) process, reference is made, by way of example, to xe2x80x9celektrowxc3xa4rme internationalxe2x80x9d 53 (1995) B4xe2x80x94November, pp. B215-B223.
In general, when radiation impinges on an object it is split into a reflected fraction, an absorbed fraction and a transmitted fraction, which are determined by the reflectivity (reflectance), the absorptivity (absorptance) and the transmissivity (transmittance) of the object. Reflectance, absorptance and transmittance are optical properties which, depending on the wavelength of incident radiation (e.g. in the ultraviolet region, in the region of visible light, in the infrared region and in the region of thermal radiation), can adopt different values for the same material. Kirchhoff""s law, according to which the absorptivity, in each case at a defined temperature and wavelength, has a constant ratio to the emittance, is known to apply to the absorptance. Therefore, Wien""s displacement law and Planck""s law as well as the Stefan-Boltzmann law are of importance for the absorptance, describing defined relationships between radiation intensity, spectral distribution density, wavelength and temperature of a black body. Calculations should take account of the fact that the black body per se does not exist, and real substances each deviate in a characteristic way from the ideal distribution.
In the known composite material, in particular the high reflectance in the visible light region plays a role; this reflectance is expressed by a total light reflectivity, determined in accordance with DIN 5036, Part 3, with peak values of up to 95%. Moreover, in the known material, which is preferably supplied as a semi-finished product, its excellent processability, in particular its deformability, should be emphasized.
For certain applications, it may also be the case that in one wavelength region of the incident radiation the highest possible reflectivity is required, while in other regions the lowest possible reflectivity but a higher absorptivity are required. This is the case, for example, in the field of solar collectors, in which a maximum absorptivity is required in the solar wavelength region (approximately 300 to approximately 2500 nm) and a maximum reflectivity is required in the thermal radiation region (over approximately 2500 nm). By way of example, absorbers for flat collectors in which a composite material which satisfies these requirements is used are known under the name Tinox. This material comprises a substrate made from a copper strip, a layer of titanium oxynitride applied to the substrate and a covering layer of silicon dioxide.
The present invention is based on the object of providing a composite material of the type described in the introduction which enables the absorptivity and reflectivity to be set in a controlled and selective manner in different wavelength regions. Furthermore, the composite material is also to be distinguished by good processability, in particular deformability, high thermal conductivity and high long-term thermal and chemical stability.
According to the invention, this is achieved by the fact that the top layer of the multilayer system is a dielectric layer, preferably an oxide, fluoride or nitride layer of chemical composition MeOz, MeFr, MeNs, with a refractive index n less than 1.8. The middle layer of the multilayer system is a chromium oxide layer of chemical composition CrOx. The bottom layer of the multilayer system consists of gold, silver, copper, chromium, aluminum, nickel and/or molybdenum. In the above formulations, Me is defined as a metal and indices x, z, r and s indicate a stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric ratio in the oxides, fluorides or nitrides.
The optical multilayer system according to the invention can be applied, advantageously, without the need for environmentally hazardous, in some cases toxic, salt solutions during production. For example, the metallic layer of the optical multilayer system may be a sputtered layer or a layer which is produced by vaporization, in particular by electron bombardment or from thermal sources. The two upper layers of the optical multilayer system may likewise be sputtered layers, in particular layers produced by reactive sputtering, CVD or PECVD layers or layers produced by vaporization, in particular by electron bombardment or from thermal sources. As such, the entire optical multilayer system comprises layers which are applied in vacuum order, in particular in a continuous process.
The top layer may alternatively be a silicon oxide layer of chemical composition SiOy, the index y once again indicating a stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric ratio in the oxide composition.
The said processes advantageously also not only enable the chemical composition of the top layer and the chemical composition CrOx of the chromium oxide layer, with regard to the indices x, y, z, r and s, to be set at defined, discrete values but also allow a stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric ratio between the oxidized substance and the oxygen to be varied continuously within defined limits. In this way it is possible, for example, to specifically set, by way of example, the refractive index of the reflection-reducing top layer, which is also responsible for increasing the mechanical load-bearing capacity (DIN 58196, part 5), and the absorptivity of the chromium oxide layer, the absorptance decreasing as the value of the index x rises.
According to the invention, it is in this way possible to set a total light reflectivity, determined in accordance with DIN 5036, part 3, on the side of the optical multilayer system to a preferred level of less than 5%; in addition to a high resistance to ageing, it is also possible to ensure a high thermal stability, in such a manner that, under a thermal load of 430xc2x0 C./100 hours, only changes of less than 7%, preferably of less than 4%, of the reflectivity occur on the side of the optical multilayer system. Moreover, in the event of a thermal load of this nature, there is advantageously also no evolution of gases.
The composite material according to the invention, on account of its synergistically acting combination of properties
of the substrate layer, for example its excellent deformability, by means of which it withstands without problems, stresses produced of the further processors during the shaping processes which are to be performed, for example its high thermal conductivity and the capacity for a surface patterning which in the solar wavelength region additionally promotes absorption and is then followed by the other layers in relief, and moreover with a reflectance in the thermal radiation region which reinforces the action of the metallic layer of the optical three-layer system;
of the intermediate layer, which firstly ensures mechanical and corrosion-inhibiting protection for the substrate and secondly ensures high adhesion for the optical multilayer system;
of the metallic layer which, on account of its constituents, which have a high reflectance and therefore a low emission in the thermal radiation region, takes account of the fact that, according to the Lambert-Bouguer law, the radiation characteristic is absorbed exponentially as the penetration depth grows, and for most inorganic substances is available even at a very low depth (less than approximately 1 xcexcm) as thermal energy which can be stored;
of the chromium oxide layer, with its high selectivity of the absorptivity (peak values over 90% in the solar region, minimum values below 15% in the wavelength region greater than approx. 2500 nm) and its capacity for modification (index x) which has already been explained, and
of the top, in particular silicon oxide, layer, the advantages of which have to some extent already been pointed out above and which, in addition to its antireflective action, also has a high transmittance and, as a result, increases the proportion of the radiation values in the solar region which can be absorbed by the chromium oxide layer;
is eminently suitable for absorbers for solar collectors and for other applications, for example as light absorbers used in the construction of motor vehicle headlights or other illumination devices. For example, using the composite material according to the invention, it is possible not only to produce low-temperature collectors with an operating temperature of up to 100xc2x0 C., but also to produce high-temperature collectors. Steady temperatures of over 250xc2x0 C. are possible; this term is in each case to be understood as meaning the maximum theoretically possible temperature of use at which the material is in thermal equilibrium with the environment.